The chess games of Alexander Shabalov

Shabalov

Photo courtesy of "WannaBe"

Alexander Shabalov
Number of games in database: 1,268
Years covered: 1978 to 2013
Last FIDE rating: 2544
Highest rating achieved in database: 2672
Overall record: +558 -276 =368 (61.7%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      66 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces:

Sicilian (179)
    B90 B62 B32 B97 B82
Ruy Lopez (63)
    C85 C77 C95 C92 C80
Sicilian Najdorf (45)
    B90 B97 B96 B95 B99
French Defense (45)
    C02 C18 C11 C13 C10
Sicilian Richter-Rauser (37)
    B62 B67 B63 B66 B65
Nimzo Indian (34)
    E32 E20 E34 E39 E38

With the Black pieces:

Sicilian (148)
    B90 B33 B30 B22 B32
Semi-Slav (68)
    D45 D44 D47 D43 D46
Slav (49)
    D10 D11 D15 D14 D13
Alekhine's Defense (47)
    B05 B03 B02 B04
Queen's Pawn Game (32)
    A46 E10 D02 A40 D00
French Defense (31)
    C05 C11 C10 C02 C01

Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   J Vetemaa vs Shabalov, 1986 0-1
   Shabalov vs Smirin, 1992 1-0
   Shabalov vs I Shliperman, 1995 1-0
   Shabalov vs Akobian, 2003 1-0
   Shirov vs Shabalov, 2001 0-1
   Shabalov vs Fedorowicz, 2003 1-0
   Shabalov vs R Elseth, 1991 1-0
   Shabalov vs Saidy, 2003 1-0
   Shabalov vs E Tate, 1998 1-0
   Shabalov vs Kholmov, 1987 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Torneo Continental Americano (2003)
   US Championships 2003 (2003)
   32nd World Open (2004)
   American Continental Championship (2005)
   US Championships (2007)
   Foxwoods Open (2007)
   Foxwoods Open (2009)
   38th World Open (2010)
   US Championships (2010)
   112th US Open (2011)
   World Open (2012)
   US Chess Championships (2013)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Western Pennsylvania games and players by RonB52734
   Shabba-dabba-do (The games of Alexander Shabalov by VinnyRoo2002

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Alexander Shabalov
Search Google for Alexander Shabalov
FIDE player card for Alexander Shabalov

ALEXANDER SHABALOV
(born Sep-12-1967) Latvia (citizen of United States of America)

[what is this?]

GM Alexander Shabalov was born in Riga, Latvia in 1967. He studied under former world champion and fellow Rigan Mikhail Tal. About 1992, Shabalov emigrated to the United States with his family and eventually settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been the United States Chess Champion four times: in 1993 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp...(with Alex Yermolinsky); 2000-2001 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp...(with Joel Benjamin and Yasser Seirawan); in 2003-2004 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp..., and most recently in 2007 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp.... At the chessboard, Shabalov is known for courting complications and for an uncompromising, attacking style. As of August, 2006, his 2653 rating is 12th overall in the United States. American Continental Champion with the same score of Fidel Corrales Jimenez at Sao Paulo 2009.

Wikipedia article: Alexander Shabalov

page 1 of 51; games 1-25 of 1,268

Game	Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. Jekabson vs Shabalov	1-0	22	1978	USSR 27/346	B29 Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rubinstein
2. A Vitolinsh vs Shabalov	1-0	35	1985	Riga	B54 Sicilian
3. Shabalov vs D King	1-0	37	1985	Yurmala	E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Pirc Variation
4. Tal vs Shabalov	1-0	39	1985	Jurmala	D02 Queen's Pawn Game
5. Hoi vs Shabalov	½-½	16	1985	Yurmala	B08 Pirc, Classical
6. Shabalov vs Gipslis	0-1	36	1985	Yurmala (Latvia)	A15 English
7. Shabalov vs Osolinsh	1-0	28	1985	Riga	A30 English, Symmetrical
8. Shabalov vs V Tukmakov	½-½	37	1985	Yurmala	E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
9. Shabalov vs A Vitolinsh	0-1	42	1985	Jurmala	B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
10. E Kengis vs Shabalov	1-0	30	1985	It ( cat. 9 )	A30 English, Symmetrical
11. Bagirov vs Shabalov	1-0	25	1985	Yurmala	A52 Budapest Gambit
12. Shabalov vs Lutsko	1-0	40	1985	Riga	A10 English
13. Utasi vs Shabalov	½-½	57	1985	Yurmala	D04 Queen's Pawn Game
14. Shabalov vs K Supatashvili	0-1	25	1985	Tbilisi (Georgia)	C13 French
15. J Petkevich vs Shabalov	1-0	34	1985	Riga	A30 English, Symmetrical
16. Shabalov vs I Gurevich	½-½	36	1985	Yurmala	A80 Dutch
17. Balashov vs Shabalov	1-0	25	1985	Yurmala	A30 English, Symmetrical
18. Shabalov vs Polishuk	1-0	40	1985	Tbilisi	A07 King's Indian Attack
19. Shabalov vs A Yap	1-0	42	1985	Yurmala	E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
20. V Ronin vs Shabalov	0-1	46	1985	Kharkov	B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 10.castle long
21. V Inkiov vs Shabalov	½-½	16	1985	Yurmala	B54 Sicilian
22. V Shulman vs Shabalov	1-0	45	1986	Riga	B02 Alekhine's Defense
23. Shabalov vs Ivanchuk	1-0	31	1986	Novosibirsk (Russia)	A07 King's Indian Attack
24. A Anastasian vs Shabalov	0-1	38	1986	Minsk	A46 Queen's Pawn Game
25. Shabalov vs S Savcenko	1-0	41	1986	USSR	D14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation


page 1 of 51; games 1-25 of 1,268

REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Shabalov wins | Shabalov loses

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>
Jun-19-03		mikebpresident: Anyone who knows anything about Shabalov knows he is a fighter. He won't draw most positions anymore in the early stages of the game like manye other GMs, even if the position is equal. I think that is very Lasker-ish and very admirable. You think this is a draw? Prove it... I have very much respect for this dangerous player who is very strong right now.

Jul-07-03		Sneaky: I've always loved Shabalov's chess since the early 90's when he wrote a few articles for Chess Life. He likes to induldge in crazy theoretical lines, like my favorite, the Winawer Countergambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5) as well as the ultra-sharp Taimanov Benoni w/ ...Nbd7.

Jul-07-03		refutor: don't forget the botvinnik system (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.c3 f6 4.f3 e6 5.g5 dxc4!!) or the shabalov-shirov gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.c3 f6 4.f3 e6 5.e3 bd7 6.c2 d6 7.g4!?) recently used by kasparov v. deep fritz

Aug-04-03		bishop: "If the position after my move becomes more complicated then the game is going in the right direction." -Shabalov

Aug-17-03		PVS: U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS SINCE 1930 1930 Chicago, IL -- Samuel Factor, Norman Whitaker 1931 Tulsa, OK -- Samuel Reshevsky 1932 Minneapolis, MN -- Reuben Fine 1933 Detroit, MI -- Reuben Fine 1934 Chicago, IL -- Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky 1935 Milwaukee, WI -- Reuben Fine 1936 Philadelphia, PA -- I.A. Horowitz 1937 Chicago, IL -- D.S. Polland 1938 Boston, MA -- I.A. Horowitz, Isaac Kashdan 1939 New York, NY -- Reuben Fine 1940 Dallas, TX -- Reuben Fine 1941 St. Louis, MO -- Reuben Fine 1942 Dallas, TX -- Herman Steiner, Dan Yanofsky 1943 Syracuse, NY -- I.A. Horowitz 1944 Boston, MA -- Samuel Reshevsky 1945 Peoria, IL -- Anthony Santasiere 1946 Pittsburgh, PA -- Herman Steiner 1947 Corpus Christi, TX -- Isaac Kashdan 1948 Baltimore, MD -- Weaver W. Adams 1949 Omaha, NE -- Albert Sandrin Jr. 1950 Detroit, MI -- Arthur Bisguier 1951 Fort Worth, TX -- Larry Evans 1952 Tampa, FL -- Larry Evans 1953 Milwaukee, WI -- Donald Byrne 1954 New Orleans, LA -- Larry Evans, Arturo Pomar 1955 Long Beach, CA -- Nicolas Rossolimo 1956 Oklahoma City, OK -- Arthur Bisguier 1957 Cleveland, OH -- Robert Fischer, Arthur Bisguier 1958 Rochester, MN -- E. Cobo-Arteaga 1959 Omaha, NE -- Arthur Bisguier 1960 St. Louis, MO -- Robert Byrne 1961 San Francisco, CA -- Pal Benko 1962 San Antonio, TX -- Antonio Medina 1963 Chicago, IL -- William Lombardy, Robert Byrne 1964 Boaton, MA -- Pal Benko 1965 Rio Piedras, PR -- Pal Benko, William Lombardy 1966 Seattle, WA -- Pal Benko, Robert Byrne 1967 Atlanta, GA -- Pal Benko 1968 Aspen, CO -- Bent Larsen 1969 Lincoln, NE -- Pal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, Milan Vukcevich 1970 Boston, MA -- Bent Larsen 1971 Ventura, CA -- Walter Browne, Larry Evans 1972 Atlantic City, NJ -- Walter Browne 1973 Chicago, IL -- Norman Weinstein 1974 New York NY -- Pal Benko, Vlastimil Hort 1975 Lincoln, NE -- Pal Benko, William Lombardy 1976 Fairfax, VA -- Anatoly Lein, Leonid Shamkovich 1977 Columbus, OH -- Leonid Shamkovich, Andy Soltis, Timothy Taylor 1978 Phoenix, AZ -- Joseph Bradford 1979 Chicago, IL -- Florin Gheorghiu 1980 Atlanta, GA -- John Fedorowicz, Florin Gheorghiu 1981 Palo Alto, CA -- Florin Gheorghiu, Larry Christiansen, Jeremy Silman, Nick de Firmian, John Meyer 1982 St. Paul, MN -- Andrew Soltis, William Martz 1983 Pasadena, CA -- Larry Christiansen, Viktor Korchnoi 1984 Fort Worth, TX -- Roman Dzindzichashvili, Sergey Kudrin 1985 Hollywood, FL -- Yasser Seirawan, Boris Spassky, Joel Benjamin 1986 Somerset, NJ -- Larry Christiansen 1987 Portland, OR -- Lev Alburt 1988 Boston, MA -- Dmitry Gurevich 1989 Chicago, IL -- Lev Alburt 1990 Jacksonville, FL -- Yasser Seirawan 1991 Los Angeles, CA -- Michael Rohde, V. Akopyan 1992 Dearborn, MI -- Gregory Kaidanov 1993 Philadelphia, PA -- Alexander Shabalov 1994 Chicago, IL -- Georgi Orlov, Dmitry Gurevich, Ben Finegold, Smbat Lputian, Leo Kaushansky, Albert Chow 1995 Concord, CA -- Alex Yermolinsky 1996 Alexandria, VA -- Gabriel Schwartzman 1997 Kissimmee, FL -- Alex Yermolinsky 1998 Kona, HI -- Judit Polgar, Boris Gulko 1999 Reno, NV -- Alex Yermolinsky, Alexander Goldin, Eduard Rozentalis, Alexander Shabalov, Gabriel Schwartzman, Michael Mulyar 2000 St. Paul, MN -- Alex Yermolinsky 2001 Framingham, MA -- Joel Benjamin, Fabian Doettling, Alexander Stripunsky, Alek Wojtkiewicz 2002 Cherry Hill, NJ -- Gennadi Zaitshik, Evgeniy Najer

Aug-17-03		Kenneth Sterling: I must have played in the 1964 tournament. I watched some of the 1983 US Open. They were supposed to have a Korchnoi-Kasparov match, but Kasparov was a no show, so Korchnoi entered the tournament.

Jan-03-04		mitchell collett: do you set up games that kids can play eachother over the internet?

Jun-29-04		James Knight: Is it possible that Shabalov and Mig Greengard were seperated at birth?

Nov-24-04		Morphy Fan: Shabalov loses in Round 1 of the US Championship! From the site: Round 1 shocker! Defending champion Alexander Shabalov loses with white to Anna Zatonskih

Nov-24-04		Spassky69: What is up with all these foreigners playing in the US Championship? I'm not talking about people who stop playing for their country and play for the US or some other country permantely like Pal Benko, Shabalov, Onischuk, Shirov, but people just entering the tournament who just want the prize money (since it is the largest of all championships I think) like these "US" Champions. Boris Spassky, Bent Larsen, Judit Polgar, Viktor Korchnoi!!! Are you kidding me. Why doesn't Khalifman who isn't playing in the Russian Championship go over and win the US Championship not giving up his rights to still play for Russia! Bent Larsen from

May-23-05		Joshka: What's happened to this guy's game? For awhile a couple of years ago, this guy was winning tournament after tournament. Maybe just a slump?

May-24-05		JustAFish: Shabalov, when asked if he concured with GM Maurice Ashely's commentary on the first round games in the HB Global Chess challenge joked: "Don't ask me, I'm learning something here..."

Jul-05-05		WTHarvey: Here are some puzzles from Alex's games: http://www.wtharvey.com/shab.html

Jul-05-05		Knight13: Yup. The great attacking-style player, Alexander Shabalov. Player of the Day. Cool....

Feb-15-06		Joshka: For anyone living or visiting Northern Ohio, I'd like to report that Alex has opened the "House of Chess" along with Gm Yermolinsky and amature player Larry Rust. From their Website, if this concept; tourney's, lessons, books, simuls, ect., in one of the major Malls near Cleveland works well, they plan to open another "House of Chess" in Yermolinsky's home area of San Fransico.

May-13-06		DeepBlade: Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav,Shabalov-Shirov Gambit 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.g4 O-O 8.g5?! Tal, Anand, Shirov, Morozevich and Shabalov. All imaginative players! And they all have unique gambits I guess.

Aug-28-06		RonB52734: I was just looking at Shabalov's recent playing results on the uscf website. He is very active, having played in four tournaments (a total of 28 rounds)since the Fourth of July. He has lost only 1 game in his last 14 games, 2 in his last 19, and 3 out of his last 28 games, going back to the World Open in July. He has been tied for the second-best score in all four tournaments in that time (Atlantic Open, US Open, Miami International Open, and World Open). And for those of you wondering about draws, his results in his last 28 are +19, -3, =6.

Sep-01-06		RonB52734: Here is a bio for Shabalov: Alexander Shabalov was born in Riga, Latvia in 1967. He studied under former world champion and fellow Rigan Mikhail Tal. As a child, Shabalov emigrated to the United States with his family and eventually settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has won the United States Chess Championship three times: in 1993 (with Alex Yermolinsky); 2000-2001 (with Joel Benjamin and Yasser Seirawan); and in 2003-2004. At the chessboard, Shabalov is known for courting complications and for an uncompromising, attacking style. As of August, 2006, his 2653 rating is 12th overall in the United States.

Sep-12-06		BIDMONFA: Alexander Shabalov SHABALOV, Alexander http://www.bidmonfa.com/shabalov_al... _

Oct-29-06		Gbness: Shabalov is a great player. Sweet openings too.

Nov-19-06		RonB52734: Shabalov just tied for 1st (but lost on tiebreaks and has the 2nd place trophy) in a tournament in Bad Wiessee (sp?) Germany. I believe it was called the German International Open. He claims he was the beneficiary of bad play by his opponents, but clearly the man is still playing good chess. I haven't been able to find anything but a few newspaper reports on the Internet about this tournament. Anybody have more info?

Nov-19-06		Karpova: The final standings: http://www.oibm-bad-wiessee.de/Rang... Want to replay some games? http://www.oibm-bad-wiessee.de/MyCh... <I believe it was called the German International Open.> Not the german but the bavarian international open.

Nov-19-06		RonB52734: <Karpova> Thank you. I hope some of those games will become available in .pgn soon.

Nov-27-06		Stellar King: Hey <<<<<<<>>>>>>EVERYBODY> Guess what?! Alexander Shabalov has come to pittsburg to play a simul exhibition for the Pitt. State Univ. and I saw him!!! I am pretty sure he is coming soon too!!

Nov-28-06		plang: I thought he was living in Pittsburgh?

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